Peogess of aid apparatus foe producing non-coerodible



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J. P. GILL.

PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING NON-CORRODIBLE SURFACES ON IRON AND STEEL.

No. 284,000. Patented =5 1 N, PUER$ Pmwmho m mL Washinglnm 0 (3V (N0 Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. P. GILL.

PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING NON-GORRODIBLE SURFACES ON IRON AND STEEL.

No. 284,000. Patented Aug. 28, 1883..

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TB TAEs JOSEPH PEARSON GILL, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y.

PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING NON-CORRODIBLE SURFACES 0N IRON AND STEEL;

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 284,000, dated August 28, 1883.

Application filed August 3, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnrn PEARSON GILL, of the city, county, and State of 'New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of and Apparatus for Producing a NoirOorrodible Surface on Iron and Steel; and I do hereby declare that the following is a clear, full, and exact description of the invention,-which will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

My invention relates to the treatment of iron and steel, either manufactured or unmanufactured.

One of the results produced by my treatment of iron and steel manufactures is the incorporation of the rustless principle into their surfaces, producing a non-corrodible surface capable of resisting the action of the elements, acids, and salt-water, and which withstands rough usage and the hammer-stroke. By this treatment the bulk of the articles is not increased and the quality of the articles is not injured. Iron articles are also toughened and strengthened.

The same apparatus and materials used in the treatment of iron and 'steel surfaces may be employed in the treatment of the ores.

My invention consists in certain improvements in the apparatus and in the mode of treatment of the materials within the apparatus, all as hereinafter fully set forth.

Figure l is a front View of the bench containing the retort or muffie in section. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of a retort open at one end, with sloping pan attached. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of a retort open at both ends, with sloping pan attached. Fig. 4 is a plan of the superheating-flue on the bottom of the muffle in section.

For the specific treatment of iron and steel surfaces to render them' non corrodible by the use of superheated steam and hydrocarbon liquid, I use the following apparatus:

Referring to the drawings, A is a furnace containing a retort or retorts or closed chamher or chambers, G, from which the outside air and the products of combustion are excluded. B" is the fire-box of the furnace. Q is the space or combustion-chamber over the fire-box B, in which the retort or muffle is placed. E is a chamber located above Q. F and G are superheaters located in the chamber E". D are flnes or pipes located in the bottom of the retorts O, which flues open laterally into the retorts at a point, I as in Fig. 4., Sheet 1. It It are fines leading from the bottom of the combustion-chamber Q to the bottom of the chamber .E. The products of combustion having passed through the chamber Q, thereby heating it, pass through the fines 7t 75 into the upper chamber, E", and heating it by passing through it, thence pass out by the uptake or chimney K in Fig. 2. o 0 in Fig. l are dampers in the fines is It", for regulating the draft. q q in Figs. 2

and 3 are also dampers in the uptake or escape-flue K. T in'Fig. l is a tank for containing hydrocarbon liquid, which may be either mineral, vegetable, animal, or fish oils, with a glass gage and graduated scale, t. H is a pipe with a valve for delivering the oil through the gas-tight glass cylinder into the siphon-pipe r, thence through the pipe e and through the branch pipe 9'' into the retort or muffle 0. I11 this case the oil runs into the retort by gravitation. I is a similar oil-tank with a glass gage and graduated scale. i is a pipe with valve rising to the gastight glass cylinder j". In this case the oil is forced up by means of the pressure of air under automatic regulation to the point 3', from whence it descends by gravitation through the pipes e and g to the muffie. c is a pipe with an automatic regulator, valve, and pressure-gage, connected with the steam-generator and with a pipe, p, and thence with the superheater F. b is a pipe or pipes withvalves for conveying gases from holders or other sources of supply,

under automatic regulation,to and through the pipe 1) to the superheater F. a is a pipe with valves for conveying air from a pump or automatically-regulated forcing device and reeeiver-such as shown in application for United States Patent filed July 9, 1883, marked Division B, or any other suitable deviceto the superheater F. d is a branch pipe for conveying steam, gas, or air into the muffle O.

h is a sloping pan for receiving and vaporizing the oil as it flows from the pipe 9'. N is o a separate treatment for articles subsequently is a trap or main to receive the condensed products, and, by means of the depth of the 7 seal, to regulate the pressure in the mufile C".

When articles are to be treated for the production of a non-corrodible surface, they are to be suspended or placed on suitable supports in the muffle or retort C". The iron or steel articles, before being placed in the retort or muffle, are cleaned from external impurities in any suitable manner. The article having been placed in the muflie and brought to a red heat, I admit hydrogen gas, if required, through a pipe, as I), through the superheaters F and D into the muffle, O, which removes from the iron any remaining or acquired rust or other impurities. The hydrogen being shut off, I admit, under one process, steam through the pipe 0, superheaters F Gfl'p'ipes Z a, and superheater D into the muffle. Through the action of the steam the surface of the iron becomes coated with an oxide. I then admit oil from the tank T or I through the pipes e 9 into the top of the re tort or muffle, as shown in the drawings. .The oil dropping on the sloping pan h as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, is partly vaporizedas it fiows along it, and the residuum drops upon the heated fioor of the muffle as near the front as will secure perfect evaporation. The superheated steam escaping from the coil D at the point P commingles with thevapors of the oil, expands them, and conveys them to the articles. The hydrocarbon vapor acting upon superheated steam, toimpart a protecting-surthe iron or steel, which has become oxidized, combines therewith, forming a homogeneous surface, which resists the effects of atmospheric exposure or acid vapors or strong acids. The hardness and durability of the surface and the depth of the penetration of the treatment depend upon the length and manner of said treatment.

This method is adapted for the use of heavy oils, including those containing nitrogen or nitrogenous compounds, mineral, vegetable,

and animal oils, as the specific treatment may require. The heavy oils, under a high temperature, form a deposit of carbon in the muffle, which I utilize, in combination with face to the iron and steel. Thus I use the lighter or more volatile portion of the oils in a first treatment, and subsequently the heavier Y portion or the dry deposit of carbon, which adheres to the retort, as a continuation of the treatment of the articles first introduced, or as introduced. This method economizes the use of the materials and produces a homogeneous similar effects.

duce air, in lieu of the superheated steam, through a pipe, as a, Fig. 1, which, passing through the superheaters F G and D,'becomes highly heated inthe same manner as the steam,

and is used for the same purposeviz., to oxid-' ize the surface of the iron, and, in combina tion with the hydrocarbon, as above stated, to produce a non-corrodible surface, similar to that hereinbefore described. I use the air with or without combination with the steam,

simultaneously or alternately, with the hydrocarbon liquid, and in this connection because the action of the agents in the muffle on the iron takes place in the presence of nitrogen,

which is one of the constituents of the air, and is useful in the treatment. I also introduce into the mufiie, through a pipe, as b, and thence through the superheaters, carbonic-acid gas as an equivalent for the steam, to produce I may also use nitrogen gas in combination with the superheated steam or carbonic acid gas, in order that the action in the muffle C may take place in the presence liminary treatment, in certain cases, to prepare articles for a non-corrodible treatment.

Having thus described my invention, I

1. The process of treating iron or-steel in a closed chamber, in the presence of steam, by diffusing and evaporating in part the hydrocarbon oil as it flows into the chamber, and causing the residuum to evaporate from the floor, whereby the lighter products are caused to act first with the steam, using the dry deposit of carbon left in the retort in subsequent treatment, substantially in the manner herein described, and for the purpose set forth.

2'. In thedescribed closed chamber for treating iron or steel, a sloping pan, h arranged beneath the end of the branch pipe 9", in combination with the fiue D, through which steam is conveyed into thesaid closed chamber, whereby the hydrocarbon oil is vaporized and spread as it flows toward the bottom, substantially in the manner herein described, and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. JOSEPH PEARSON GILL. Witnesses:

F. L. MIDDLETON, WM. H. GRENELLE. 

